With India firmly back on travel bucket lists, we’ve taken a look at some of the great reasons to visit India in 2023.
This month, we had the fantastic news that e-Visas are being reinstated, making travel to India much more straightforward for tourists. Of course, there are so many wonderful reasons to visit India, but we have handpicked new and exciting items to include on your itinerary in 2023.
7 Reasons to visit India in 2023
Here are our 7 reasons to visit India in 2023 which we hope you’ll enjoy.
1. Visit Delhi’s first Shopping Festival
India’s capital city is a must-see due to its unique fusion of fascinating history and vibrant modern life. Delhi is well recognised for being a shopper’s paradise with its multi-floor markets and lively street bazaars, and if you visit in early 2023, you can experience the first of our reasons to visit India in 2023, the inaugural Delhi Shopping Festival.
The month-long celebration, dubbed India’s biggest shopping festival, will run from January 28 to February 26 and feature businesses and stalls offering enormous discounts on everything. Over 200 concerts, games, live entertainment performances, food walks, and displays on gaming, spirituality, technology, and wellness will all be part of the event.
By encouraging corporate expansion, job creation, and market affluence, the event hopes to strengthen Delhi’s economy.
Elsewhere in Delhi
Visit New Delhi, home to museums, galleries, and India Gate the national monument of India. There are the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Humayun’s Tomb, the Red Fort Complex, The Qutb Minar to explore, and Jama Masjid, the biggest mosque in India. And don’t miss an unforgettable rickshaw ride around Old Delhi.
Suggested Delhi Tours
2. Visit India’s first Dark Sky Reserve
See stars as you’ve never seen them before at India’s first Dark Sky Reserve in the charming village of Hanle in Ladakh. Set to open in early 2023, the Reserve is poised to play a major role in the country’s astronomical tourism narrative. The Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary includes the reserve, which attempts to reduce light pollution for better viewing of the dark night sky filled with stars and planets. The reserve is located 4,500 metres above sea level. Once there, don’t forget to stop by the hilltop Hanle Monastery from the 17th century for inner peace and tranquillity, as well as a sweeping perspective of the town and its distinctive landscape.
Elsewhere in Ladakh
Visit fabulous monasteries to visit, including, Thiksey and Phyang, Leh’s famous Shanti Stupa and the impressive Shey Palace, the former residence of the King of Ladakh. Travel on the highest motorable road in the world, the Khardung La Pass, take a camel safari across the sand dunes between Deskit and Hunder Village and stay beside the glistening waters of Pangong Lake
Image: Getty Images
Suggested Ladakh Tours
3. Welcome Cheetahs back to India
One of our favourite reasons to visit India in 2023 is to celebrate the return of cheetahs. Seven decades after being declared extinct, cheetahs have just returned to India, relocating to Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park. By 2023, you should have the opportunity to see Namibian cheetahs (perhaps all eight of them), who will be prowling around in the Vindhyas mountain range in their spotted splendour. In the event that the cheetahs are difficult to spot, you can always board a safari jeep and allow the park’s flora and fauna—which includes around 30 animals, 200 bird species, and 14 species of fish—transport you away from the hectic pace of city life.
Elsewhere in Madhya Pradesh
Explore the many National Parks including Bandhavgarh National Park with one of the highest-known tiger densities in India, Pench and Kanha. Picturesque Gwalior with its palaces, temples and fort is well worth a visit, as is Mandu – a treasure trove of ancient ruins dating back to the 6th century.
4. Be amazed by the maze
We’re going around in circles for the next of our reasons to visit India in 2023! The Maze Garden in Kevadia, Gujarat is the largest maze garden in India and spans three acres of land with a total of 2,100 metres of track. The garden was planned to resemble a Shriyantra, a form of a mystical diagram (yantra) used in the Shri Vidya school of Hinduism and thought to spread positive energy. To add to the garden’s greenery, 180,000 saplings have also been planted in and around the garden. One of our favourite reasons to visit India in 2023!
Elsewhere in Gujarat
The pilgrimage town of Palitana is a must-see, dotted with over 3,000 temples and the first city in the world to be legally vegetarian. Animal lovers will enjoy seeing the endangered residents of the Wild Ass Sanctuary in the Little Rann of Kutch, the only place on Earth where you can find the Asiatic Wild Ass (Equus hemionus khur) and Gir National Park (also known as Sasan Gir), the only place in the world where you can still see Asiatic lions in the wild.
Image: Times of India
5. Take a ride on India’s first rail sea bridge
The new Pamban Bridge being constructed by Indian Railway, will be the country’s first vertical lift sea bridge and connect Tamil Nadu on the mainland with the holy city of Rameshwaram. The new 2.07 km long bridge is about 84% built, and completion is anticipated in March 2023.
The bridge will improve traffic between Rameshwaram island and mainland India by enabling the Indian Railway to run trains at a faster speed while carrying more weight, and will be very handy for those seeking to travel to Ramanathaswamy Temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlingas (devotional representations of the Hindu god Shiva.)
Elsewhere in Tamil Nadu
A trip to Tamil Nadu is essential if culture is your interest. Chennai, the nation’s capital and also referred to as the “culture capital of India,” is the entry point to a treasure trove of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and age-old temples. Along with beautiful mountains, amazing fauna, silver waterfalls, and sandy beaches, it also offers a rich natural environment.
Image: RVNL
6. Airshow and art in Bangalore
The penultimate of our reasons to visit India in 2023 is bustling Bangalore. Referred to as the Silicon Valley of India, Bengaluru (previously Bangalore), is a vibrant and interesting destination. In the midst of glitzy commercial centres and thriving nightlife, gardens and palaces from the 18th century proudly remain.
The 14th iteration of Aero India, regarded as Asia’s largest airshow, will take place in Bengaluru in 2023. It will take place from February 13 through February 17 at the Yelahanka Air Force Station.
Early in 2023, the Museum of Art & Photography will open, showcasing photography with sculptures, textiles, ancient and contemporary art, and more.
Elsewhere in Bangalore
Discover the Tudor-styled Bangalore Palace, purchased for the ruling Maharaja of Mysuru when he was only ten years old, and see India’s largest collection of tropical plants, Lalbagh Botanical Gardens. The Karnataka wine trails will let you sample regional sparkling wine, fruit-forward easy drinking wines and barrel-matured reserve wines.
7. Arts and sport in Mumbai
Not one but three never-before-seen events make Mumbai a surefire suggestion in the last of our reasons to visit India in 2023. First up is the Cricket World Cup, where a few of the games will be held in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.
Art lovers will be mesmerised by Van Gogh 360, an immersive art exhibition that will feature 300 of the Dutch painter’s paintings in a setting unlike any other (January 20th – February 17th). The World Trade Centre in Mumbai will be bathed in colour, with audio-visual components adding to the surreal experience.
Finally, the 2023 edition of Chicago’s Lollapalooza (January 28–29) will be the city’s first Lollapalooza in Asia, with Imagine Dragons, Cigarettes After Sex, Zhu, and Diplo performing alongside indigenous musicians AP Dhillon, Prateek Kuhad and Bombay Brass.
Elsewhere in Mumbai
See the impressive Gateway of India, built to commemorate the visit of Queen Mary and King George V in 1911. ,Unfortunately they only saw a cardboard model of it as it wasn’t completed until 1915! Explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the ornate Elephanta Cavesand the 19th century Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai, and take in the sea breeze on an early morning or late evening stroll along the promenade.
(Image: WikiMedia)
We hope you’ve been inspired by our 7 Reasons to visit India in 2023. Take a look at our tours or contact our friendly team today to plan a bespoke getaway.